Animal Health Calf Health

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Animal HealthCalf Health

• Level II Agricultural Business Operations

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Rearing Replacements

• This session will include
• Sources signs of infection and sickness
• Colostrum feeding
• Calf diseases
• Animal welfare
• Biosecurity and health plans
• Safe use of veterinary medicines

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Rearing Replacements

• Heifers have significant rearing costs
• More than 15 of heifers born dont reach 1st
  lactation.
• Important to maximise calfs early growth
  potential and good feed conversion efficiencies

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Sources of Infection
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Sources of Infection
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Sources of Infection
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Sources of Infection
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Signs of Sickness

• Check calves at least twice per day.
• What to look for

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Signs of Sickness
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Signs of Sickness
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Signs of Sickness
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Signs of Sickness
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Signs of Sickness
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Signs of Sickness

• Also check...
• Coat condition
• Breathing
• Temperature
• Heart rate
• Eating habits

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Calf Health - Colostrum

• Calves born with no immunity
• The three Qs of colostrum feeding
• Quantity
• Quality
• Quickly

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Quantity

• 10 of calfs birth weight.
• Generally 3 to 6 litres
• 20 min suckling 3 litres intake!!
• Volume required is dependant on colostrum quality

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Quality Cow Management

• Quality varies from cow to cow
• Cow Body Condition Score of 2.5 - 3 prior to
  calving
• Minimum five weeks dry cow period
• Cows exposed to pathogens on farm

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Quality Cow Management

• Colostrum from 2nd 3rd lactation cows, usually
  best quality.
• Colostrum hygiene also important collection and
  feeding utensils
• Assess quality using colostrometer

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Colostrometer
Assess at room temperature (22?C)
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Colostrum
Feed value of colostrum falls quickly
Component Milking Number Milking Number Milking Number Milking Number
1 2 3 11
Colostrum Transitional milk Transitional milk Whole milk
Total solid 23.9 17.9 14.1 12.5
Fat 6.7 5.4 3.9 3.9
Protein 14.0 8.4 5.1 3.1
Antibodies 6.0 4.2 2.4 0.09
Lactose 2.7 3.9 4.4 4.9
Mineral 1.11 0.95 0.87 0.74
Vitamin A ug/dl 295 190 1.13 34
Antibody levels fall quickly
Adapted from Folley Otterby 1978
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Quickly

• Within first 4-6 hours.
• Feed 50 within 60 minutes of birth
• Antibody absorption decreases after birth and
  stops by 24hrs
• Feed for 3-4 days minimum

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Antibody Absorption
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Colostrum Feeding

• Suckle the dam
• Suckle from teat on bucket
• Stomach tube
• Commercial substitutes

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Calf Health - Scour

• Biggest killer of calves under 1 month
• 1 in 10 calves suffer from scour
• All outbreaks should be investigated
• Half of deaths lt 1 month due to scour

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Risk Factors

• Wet and dirty bedding
• Pens not disinfected between calves
• Insufficient colostrum
• Communal rearing

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Symptoms of Scour

• Diarrhoea of varying severity
• Dehydration
• Calves dull/depressed
• Poor appetite
• Occasional high temperature

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Types of Scour

• Two main categories of scour
• Non- infectious e.g. nutritional
• Infectious

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Causes of Non-Infectious Scours

• Irregular feeding times
• Incorrect temperature and strength of milk
  substitute
• Poor hygiene
• Incorrect positioning of feed buckets/teats
  oesophageal groove

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Oesophageal Groove

• Calves rumen is undeveloped at birth
• Develops fully at 3-8 weeks
• Milk digested by 4th compartment of stomach
  abomasum
• Oesophageal groove allows milk to pass from
  oesophagus to abomasum
• Milk leaking into rumen can cause scour

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Oesophageal Groove
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Oesophageal Groove
Oesophagus
Reticulum
Rumen
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Causes of Infectious Scour

• Organisms causing infectious scour
• Rotavirus
• Cryptosporidia
• Coccidia
• Coronavirus
• E.coli K99
• Salmonella

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Costs of Scour

• Mortality
• Cost of veterinary treatment
• Loss of condition
• Additional labour

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General Treatment

• Consult vet early in an outbreak
• Isolate, dry bedding and heat lamp
• Depending on severity - Stop or reduce milk for
  12 - 24 hours (vet advice)
• Electrolytes and fluids for dehydration and
  temporary nutrients - stomach tube

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General Treatment

• Symptoms of dehydration
• Sunken eye, skin fold stays up, skin tight
• Antibiotics to combat primary or secondary
  infection
• Gradually re-introduce milk with electrolyte

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Diagnosis

• Involves collecting a scour sample to send to the
  lab to identify the cause
• Samples should be taken before animals are
  treated with antibiotics
• Must be taken from the calf
  and not the floor!

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Prevention

• Vaccinate cows prior to calving antibodies in
  colostrum
• Diagnose causes of scours and put control plan in
  place (different causes different treatments)
• Prevents losses due to treatment costs, stunted
  growths and additional labour

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Prevention

• Hygiene in calving pens and of feeding utensils
• Housing drainage, ventilation, air space.
• COLOSTRUM

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Calf Health - Pneumonia

• Multifactorial disease
• Caused by one or more organisms
• Viruses
• Bacteria
• Mycoplasms
• Most common cause of death in 1-6 month calves

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Risk Factors

• Mixing cattle from different sources and/or ages
• Stress often triggers respiratory diseases
• Inadequate ventilation
• BVD lowers resistance
• Inadequate colostrum

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Animal Health Ireland
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Symptoms of Pneumonia

• Being off form - Dullness
• Reduced feed intake
• Fever (over 39.5?C)
• Increased respiratory rate
• Frequent chesty coughs (not always)
• Discharge from nose and eyes

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Types of Pneumonia

• Most cases are mixed infections. However, the
  main organisms that start the disease are
• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
• Para-influenza type 3 (PI3)
• Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR)
• Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD)
• Coronaviruses

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Costs of Pneumonia

• Mortality
• Cost of veterinary treatment
• Loss of condition
• Production loss due to residual lung damage

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General Treatment

• Consult vet early in an outbreak
• Isolate, dry bedding and draught free
• Antibiotics to combat primary or secondary
  infection

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General Treatment

• Anti-inflammatory drugs lower temperature and
  reduce inflammation of lungs
• Steroids may help in severe cases
• Handle gently stress can kill
• Preventative treatment of group

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Prevention

• Vaccination maximise immunity
• Adequate colostrum intake
• Ensure a dry bed (fall of 120)
• Avoid mixing stock
• Optimise stocking density
• Adequate ventilation no draughts
• Medicate with antibiotics

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Other Calf Disorders Navel Ill

• Painful infection of navel within first week of
  life
• Hygiene of calving pens important
• At calving spray with antibiotic aerosol or
  iodine

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Other Calf Disorders Joint Ill

• Lameness, and later swelling of joints
• From 2-4 weeks old
• Infection via the navel
• Bacteria gather in joints
• causing inflammation